Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
GRAND TOUR STYLE
For 18th-century young British noblemen, no education was complete without a year on the Grand Tour. Although it had no official route, the Grand Tour focused on places foundational to European art, literature and architecture, including sites in France, Germany, Switzerland and, most importantly, Italy. It was an opportunity not just to witness the roots of the classics they had studied but also to take some of it home. Grand Tour furniture was among the souvenirs.
Grand Tour furniture ranged from marble architectural models replicating ancient wonders to actual antiquities often taken illicitly, leaving a legacy of looting still being unraveled today. Other items reflected the artistic richness of the Renaissance cities and other destinations. In Italy, this included scagliola tables and pedestals mimicking marble as well as tabletops and wall panels embedded with pietra dura hard stone mosaics.
Furniture was also developed to display Grand Tour purchases in the owner’s home, presenting them as a cultivated and well-traveled person. Mahogany collector’s cabinets held objects like intaglio moldings of coins and seals while others had specialized drawers that framed pietra dura panels.
Many objects were specifically produced for Grand Tour collectors. Often accompanied by retinues on journeys lasting months or years, the elite travelers, the wealthiest of whom extended their trips to Egypt and the Holy Land, required artful personal mementos befitting the experience. For example, Grand Tour micromosaics — small artworks, most not more than two inches wide — arose from the entrepreneurial impulses of artisans who had trained in the Vatican’s workshops.
Grand Tour journeys would help inform a range of decorative styles such as neoclassical, Rococo and Adam style. (Architect and designer Robert Adam toured Italy and France for five years.) The Grand Tour flourished at a time of economic prosperity and political stability, but the French Revolution in 1789 brought it to an end. Yet as the tradition faded in popularity in England, the rising wealth of the United States led to an increase in tourism across the Atlantic and a similar passion for collecting to show one’s worldliness.
Find a collection of Grand Tour decorative objects, wall decorations, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.
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Style: Grand Tour
Pair 19th Century Painted Pine Corinthian Column Pedestals
Located in Dublin 8, IE
Pair 19th century painted pine Corinthian column pedestals in the classical Italian style with scrolling acanthus leaves and fluted detailing. The pair are finished in an off-white p...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Pine
Pair of Large Neoclassical Urns
Located in New York, NY
Pair of large neoclassical urns. Grand tour patinated copper craters after the antique with swan-form handles from Naples. Italy, early 19th century.
Dimension: 24.5" H x 15" D X 1...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Copper
Pair of Antique French Garden Cast Iron Half Round Urn Form Fluted Wall Planters
Located in St. Louis, MO
Pair of unusual early 20th century antique French cast iron half round demilune wall mounted urn form wall planters. Having traces of blue paint, e...
Category
1920s French Vintage Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Metal
Neoclassical Marble Statue of Rebecca at the Well
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
An antique Neoclassical statuary marble statue of Rebecca at the well, signed and dated 'ABO CIPRIANI FECE 1880', from a private collection in London.
Dating to circa 1880, this expe...
Category
Late 19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble, Statuary Marble
Antique Neoclassical Grand Tour Giltwood Architectural Columns, a Pair
Located in Elkhart, IN
A stunning pair of Grand Tour or Neoclassical gilt wood architectural tabletop columns.
Italy, Early 20th Century
Measures: 5.13"W x 5.13"D x 18.75"H.
Good vintage condition.
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Giltwood
Pair of Large Cast Iron Garden Urns with Rams and Putti
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
Pair of Large Cast Iron Garden Urns with Rams and Putti
Beautifully Weathered Large Urns, each decorated with 2 cherubs and 2 Rams heads
The Urns are slightly rusty but otherwise t...
Category
1920s Vintage Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Iron
Neoclassical Bronze Urns Sosibios Volute on Slate Plinths French Pair
Located in Cheltenham, GB
Bronze Sosibios Volute Urns on Slate Plinths
A pair of French bronze Sosibios volute krater neo classical urns.
Beautiful classical design with each vase is of krater form with a bas-relief figural frieze decoration depicting Artemis and Hermes and a Bacchic procession.
The vases consist of volute handles to either side in the manner of a pottery krater, the term krater meaning mixing vessel and this style of vase originally used for mixing wine with water.
Elaborate twin scrolling volute handles with swans head terminals and ivy wreath cast...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Slate, Bronze
Antique Statue of a Shepherd Boy After Bertel Thorvalsden
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
A 19th century terracotta depiction of a shepherd boy based on the marble statue by late 18th/early 19th century Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvalsden. This terracotta statue once resid...
Category
Early 19th Century English Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Terracotta
19th Century Devil Gargoyle Bracket
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
19th Century Devil Gargoyle Bracket
This is a very old hard plaster wall bracket
The subject is a horned devil surrounded with grapes and vines
The Bracket is sound with the expec...
Category
19th Century Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Plaster
19th Century, Antique Sicilian Brass Knocker
Located in Catania, Sicilia
Antique Sicilian brass knocker from the end of the 19th century, ideal size for gates and large doors.
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Brass
Antique French Garden Half Round Cast Iron Urn Planter
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
French Demi Lune Green Patina Fluted Planter Pedestal
Charming and substantial early 20th Century antique French cast iron half round wall planter. This rare piece appears to have b...
Category
Early 20th Century French Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Iron
Antique Italian Grand Tour Lion and Chain Cast Bronze Door Knocker
Located in Elkhart, IN
A gorgeous cast bronze Grand Tour triple lion head and chain door knocker
Italy, Late-19th Century
Measures: 10.25"W x 2.25 "D x 9"H.
Very good original vintage condition.
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Bronze
Early 20th Century Mahogany Plinth in the Form of a Classical-Style Column
Located in Dublin 8, IE
Early 20th century mahogany plinth in the form of a classical-style fluted column with carved Ionic scrolling and Corinthian foliate detail to the capital.
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Mahogany
Grand Tour Bronze Jardiniere on Wrought Iron Stand
Located in New York, NY
Grand Tour bronze jardiniere with three lioness head form handles mounted upon a wrought iron stand with scrolling foliate design. Overall: 45" H x 14" diameter.
Dealer: S138XX
Category
Early 19th Century Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Bronze
Monumental Marble Inlaid Obelisks, Grand Tour Style
Located in El Monte, CA
Unique monumental Italian 19th Century Grand Tour Style Specimen marble inlaid obelisks. Marble is precisely cut and inlaid into a fine two-tone...
Category
20th Century European Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble
Italian White Terracotta Bust of the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, Octavian
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Italian White Terracotta bust of the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, Octavian
Italy, 1900s, Can be used indoors or outdoors.
A well execututed, large scale bust...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Terracotta
Pair of Italian Grand Tour Mahogany Wood & Bronze Roman Ruins Neoclassical Model
Located in New York, NY
A fantastic and rare pair of Italian Grand Tour mahogany wood and bronze roman ruins neoclassical models, circa late 19th century.
These are very rare and exceptionally made piece...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour Columns, a Pair
Located in Tampa, FL
A pair of 1800s specimen marble grand tour columns.
Category
Early 1800s Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble
Antique Bronze Statue of Narcissus
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
Antique 20th century Italian bronze statue of Narcissus; the Greek God referred to as ‘the self-lover’. Cast in bronze, this Grand Tour styl...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour Marble Columns, a Pair
Located in Dallas, TX
Provenance David J. Bikoff collection, Italy circa 1870 Made with different marbles.
Category
1870s Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble
19th Century Antimony Charcoal Holder
Located in Catania, Sicilia
19th Century charcoal holder in antimony, Finely decorated. Period '800. Object not easy to find, used in noble homes in Sicily to heat the bedrooms.
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Metal
A Fine & Large 19th Century Grand Tour Serpentine Marble Socle, Italy Circa 1800
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
An impressively large mottled 'verde prato' serpentine socle of turned columnar form, rising from a stepped base to a flattened plateau above a cavetto-shaped edge. In relation to it...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble, Serpentine
After the Antique, a Large 20th C Plaster Figure of a Discus Thrower
Located in Bagshot, GB
After the Antique, a large 20th C plaster figure of a discus thrower
20th century
(Pedestal not included), 100cm wide, 42cm deep, 168cm high (39in wide, 16 1/2in deep, 66in high) a...
Category
Mid-20th Century European Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Plaster
Monumental Gold Leaf Sculpture of an Angel
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Monumental gold leaf sculpture of an angel
Grand Tour style, made of gold leaf lacquer over fiberglass-reinforced resin
The statue measures 94"...
Category
20th Century Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Resin, Fiberglass, Wood, Lacquer
Pair of French 19th Century Neoclassical St. Patinated Bronze and Ormolu Columns
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An attractive and most decorative true pair of French 19th century Neoclassical st. Grand Tour patinated bronze and ormolu columns. Each column is raised by an elegant square base wi...
Category
19th Century French Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Bronze, Ormolu
Antique Limestone Statue of The Uffizi Boar
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
After the antique, a finely modelled and weathered limestone garden ornament.
This classical sculpture is generally thought to be based on the story of the slaying of the Calydoni...
Category
20th Century English Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Limestone
Antique Marble Sculpture of Aphrodite on Column
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
A 19th century antique marble sculpture of Aphrodite also referred to as the ‘Crouching Venus’ on an octagonal pedestal. It is based on the antique Roman statue...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble, Statuary Marble
Grand Tour Model
Located in Sturminster Marshall, Dorset
A fine Grand Tour design copy of the temple of Poseidon. The temple made in carved wood and specialist paint finished. The Temple is fixed to a 19th century wooden base which in turn...
Category
2010s British Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Mahogany
19th Century Granite Stone Grand Tour Style Decorative Vase
Located in New York, NY
19th century granite stone Grand Tour style decorative vase. Granite is a very hard igneous rock that has a very pleasing granular decoration. Th...
Category
Late 19th Century American Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Granite
Italian Micromosaic and Specimen Marble Occasional Table
Located in Essex, MA
Circular top now cemented in a wrought iron base with scrolled legs. Top with central view of the Coliseum and surrounded by various hardstones including porphyry.
Category
1860s Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble
19th century Grand Tour Green Marble Tazza Vase with Classical Carved Details
Located in Palm Desert, CA
A Grand Tour 19th century green marble tazza vase with classical carved motifs on tall pedestal. After a model of the renowned Warwick vase, this Grand Tour...
Category
19th Century Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble
Early 19th Century Belgium Black and Rosso Antico Marble Tazza
Located in London, GB
With lobbed reeded body on waisted socle and stepped plinth base
Category
19th Century British Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
19th Century Italian Grand Tour Carved Coral Bust of Caesar
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
19th Century Italian Grand Tour Carved Coral Bust of Caesar
Italy, mid-to-late 19th century
This magnificent Italian Grand Tour-carved coral bust of Caesar from the mid- to late-19...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Coral, Bronze
Italian Dark Green Marble Pedestal
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This stylish Italian marble pedestal dates to the end of the 19th centutury and was acquired form a Palm Beach estate.
Note: There are five seperate pieces that make up the pedestal...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Grand Tour Building and Garden Elements
Materials
Marble
Grand Tour building and garden elements for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Grand Tour building and garden elements for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage building and garden elements created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include building and garden elements, decorative objects, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with stone, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Grand Tour building and garden elements made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and France pieces for sale on 1stDibs. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for building and garden elements differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $278 and tops out at $108,390 while the average work can sell for $3,800.
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